Championship Drag Racing

Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals
Chicago, Ill.
(June 5-8)

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Driver Profile

Dave Grubnic Optima Batteries dragster

Chicago, pre-race: This weekend, June 5-8, Team DHL drag racing drivers Dave Grubnic and Scott Kalitta hope to bring home title trophies in their respective quarter-mile classes at the annual running of the Torco Racing Fuels Route 66 NHRA Nationals at Route 66 Raceway in Joliet, Ill., just a few miles south of the Chicago city limits.

Native Australian Grubnic, a 45-year old resident of Ennis, Mont., drives the bright yellow and red, 8,000-horsepower DHL Top Fuel dragster for Kalitta Motorsports. His teammate, Kalitta, a 46-year old resident of Palmetto, Fla., drives the nitro-fueled DHL Toyota Solara Funny Car.

Grubnic is the track record-holder at Route 66 Raceway for speed, 333.58 mph (Oct., 2004). Kalitta won the Top Fuel title trophy in Joliet in 2005.

At the previous event last weekend in Topeka, Kan., Grubnic and the DHL dragster team qualified their entry in the No. 13 position for eliminations (4.690 sec., 303.78 mph). After losing valuable traction on the drag strip, Grubnic was defeated in round one by Antron Brown, 8.328 sec., 89.43 mph to 4.612 sec., 294.50 mph. Kalitta and the DHL Funny Car team failed to qualify for the 16-car Funny Car field in Topeka.

Grubnic is currently in 9th place in POWERade Top Fuel championship points, while Kalitta is in 19th place in Funny Car points.

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